- HOME
- THE MAGAZINE
- SMARTHOME
- EXCLUSIVES
- TOPICS
- Trends & Industry Issues
- Video Solutions
- Access Control & Identification
- Life Safety & Fire Alarm
- Intrusion Alarm
- Integration & Network Solutions
- Communication & Infrastructure
- Home Control/Entertainment
- Monitoring
- Hosted & Managed Services
- Business Services & Education
- Products Manufacturing/Distribution
- Standards, Regulations & Legislation
- COLUMNS
- RESOURCES
- EVENTS
- MULTIMEDIA
More1. Depleted batteries should be
a. discarded in the trash one by one so as to avoid a concentration of the battery acid in one spot.
b. recycled by an authorized and approved state recycling company.
c. gathered together at the office and then burned in a controlled fire, preferably in the company dumpster.
d. placed on a commercial vehicle charger to replenish the life of the battery since the alarm panel’s charging circuit cannot give it the extra charge needed for an effective recharge.
2. According to the National Electrical Code (NEC), the proper wire color for a grounding wire is
a. red.
b. black.
c. white.
d. green.
3. Rare-earth magnets are strong ___________ magnets made from alloys of rare earth elements.
a. permanent
b. temporary
c. but fragile
4. Today’s alarm systems are capable of performing home automation and can be used to help homeowners save energy.
a. True
b. False
5. The strongest type of magnet is the __________ type.
a. rare-earth
b. ferrite
c. alnico
d. cobalt
e. neodymium
6. The reference point in an electrical circuit from which other voltages are measured is referred to as the
a. ground potential.
b. grounding rod.
c. grounding electrode.
d. earth ground.
7. There is no accepted and proper battery disposal method other than covering the terminals to avoid a short and disposing in a garbage container.
a. True
b. False
8. The chemicals inside a battery are
a. lead and sulfuric acid.
b. lead and hydrogen peroxide.
c. sulfuric acid and ammonium nitrate.
d. hydrogen and lead acid.
9. Home automation can provide effective savings on a homeowner’s electric bill by controlling devices that utilize and could waste energy.
a. True
b. False
10. The proper measurement of an earth ground should not exceed
a. 5 ohms.
b. 15 ohms.
c. 25 ohms.
d. 45 ohms.
e. As long as the path is direct, the ohms measurement doesn’t matter.
11. Smoke detectors of the __________________ type are radioactive and must be disposed of properly.
a. photoelectric
b. ionization
c. metal oxide semiconductor
d. aspiration
12. White light can cause a false alarm on some motion detectors. White light passing through a prism breaks up the light. The color between yellow and blue in the spectrum is
a. red.
b. black.
c. green.
d. indigo.
13. The lightest metal and the least dense solid element is
a. carbon.
b. lead.
c. silver.
d. lithium.
14. Rechargeable batteries are good for the environment because
a. they use less natural resources during manufacturing.
b. there is less toxic waste associated with rechargeable batteries.
c. they do not use raw materials, they contain artificially made components.
d. They are not good for the environment because the electricity used to charge them utilizes more energy than the replacement of the battery.
 |
What’s Wrong With This?
An alarm technician needed to connect two buildings together for his alarm system. He installed the wiring underground and buried it in the earth. He used cables listed for direct burial, but the local building inspector failed the installation. Can you tell what the alarm technician did wrong???
 |
Answer to: What’s Wrong With This?
The alarm technician should have buried the cables deeper. Installing the cables only 4 inches below the ground level is insufficient. Direct burial cables are required to be buried at a depth of at least 24 inches (Table 300.5, NEC 2011 Edition). Even if the alarm technician had installed the wires in conduit suited for burial, the minimum depth underground would still have been at least 6 inches.
Answers to the 5-minute Tech Quiz:
1. b
2. d
3. a
4. a
5. a
6. d
7. b — Alkaline batteries are composed primarily of common metals — steel, zinc, and manganese — and do not pose a health or environmental risk during normal use or disposal. However, due to the chemicals in them, you should recycle rechargeable, lithium, lithium ion, and zinc air batteries. A simple online search will reveal many programs that collect batteries and electronics for recycling.
8. a
9. a
10. c — This is a requirement in the National Electrical Code (NEC).
11. b
12. c — Back to school days, ROYGBIV equals red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet.
13. d
14. b
With access to over one million professionals and more than 60 industry-specific publications, 
